Material resources plastics

Plastics, as a class of material, is a truly exceptional one in that within a short span of less than a single lifetime it has pervaded nearly all aspects of modem life in all parts of the civilized world. Examples of successful replacement of conventional materials by plastics are far too numerous to list. What is important to note, however, is that nearly all of these substitutions survived in the marketplace and often continue to increase their market share in the relevant sectors. These obviously provide good value for the money because successful applications of plastics deliver performance comparable to (or better than) the materials they replaced but at a lower cost. A valid argument might be made that the market cost of plastics seriously underestimates the true cost, which reflects the use of common resources and externalities associated with their production. The same, however, holds tme for competing materials as well. The available (albeit incomplete) data suggest that even a comparison based on the true cost of materials would find plastics to be an exceptional value. 

Recovery of plastics from MSW can be as a material resource (by material recycling), a feedstock (by thermal or chemical degradation), or as energy (by incineration or biological treatment). Different technical methods are available for each of... 

Biodegradable Material Obtained from Renewable Resource Plasticized Sodium Caseinate Films... 

Biodegradable Material Obtained from Renewable Resource Plasticized Sodium Caseinate Films by Jean-Luc Audic, Florence Fourcade and Bernard Chaufer. Email jean-luc.audic univ-rennesl.fr... 

Com derived products (e g. polylactic acid) and blend systems of starch and petrochemically produced polymers present new opportunities to use renewable resources as raw materials for plastics. 

Plastics Materials Resources This website can be accessed by members and nonmembers alike however, there are several areas that have restricted access, i.e., for SPE members only. Society of Plastics Engineers, 14 Fairfield Dr., Brookfield, CT 06804-0403 USA, tel. 1 203 775 8490, Fax 203 775 8490, http //www.4spe.org. 

The worldwide increasing demand of polymeric materials and plastics will certainly offer room to options for tailor-made materials obtainable from renewable resources. These have the potential to reduce the burden associated with plastic waste generation and their associated greenhouse gases. 

Plaspec Material Selection Database Data Resources, Inc. Dialog, STN detailed engineering and design data, chemical descriptions, and trade names for over 11,500 grades of plastics materials... 

Polyesters are known to be produced by many bacteria as intracellular reserve materials for use as a food source during periods of environmental stress. They have received a great deal of attention since the 1970s because they are biodegradable, can be processed as plastic materials, are produced from renewable resources, and can be produced by many bacteria in a range of compositions. The thermoplastic polymers have properties that vary from soft elastomers to rigid brittie plastics in accordance with the stmcture of the pendent side-chain of the polyester. The general stmcture of this class of compounds is shown by (3), where R = CH3, n = >100, and m = 0-8. 

A rather impressive Hst of materials and products are made from renewable resources. For example, per capita consumption of wood is twice that of all metals combined. The ceUulosic fibers, rayon and cellulose acetate, are among the oldest and stiU relatively popular textile fibers and plastics. Soy and other oilseeds, including the cereals, are refined into important commodities such as starch, protein, oil, and their derivatives. The naval stores, turpentine, pine oil, and resin, are stiU important although their sources are changing from the traditional gum and pine stumps to tall oil recovered from pulping. 

Because of low prices and steadily rising performance on the part of technical and standard plastics, the application of natural fibers came to a near halt. The current critical discussion about preservation of natural resources and recycling led to a reflection about natural materials, the focus centuring on regrowing raw materials [2]. 

One of the problems that face our civilization is the fact that the pressure on natural resources is reported to be hindering progress. Periodically an energy crisis exists that has led to a so-called materials crisis in plastics and even other materials such as cellulose papers. Petroleum is currently the major source of raw materials for most high volume plastics. 

Petroleum is currently the major source of raw materials for most high volume polymers. Also used are gas and substitute resources such as coal that are supposedly in limited supply (although our government reports we have enough coal for the next 250 years that includes its growth expansion in use during that period), and it may well be that another approach to the problem is required. An example is different raw material sources to produce plastics that involve biotechnology (186). 

Note MPW is Mixed Plastic Waste MSW ca is municipal solid waste and comparable material Typical capacities considered are 50 ktpa to 200 tpa Theoretical potential if most blast furnaces and cement kilns in the EU start to replace regular fossil resources by MPW ... 

An Ecoprofile is an assessment of the environmental and resource impacts of a waste disposal process. This paper describes ecoprofiles for six different ways of disposing the plastic fraction in municipal solid waste -two material recycling processes that include separation of the plastic waste, material recycling without separation of the plastic waste, pyrolysis, incineration with heat recovery, and landfill. 17 refs. 

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